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CNN Live Saturday

DoD Releases Gitmo Probe; Teenager Missing in Aruba; Jury Deliberations Begin in Michael Jackson Trial, Lebanese Mourn Murdered Journalist; "Operation Lighting" Continues;

Aired June 04, 2005 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is 2:00 p.m. on the East Coast, 11:00 a.m. in the West. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta.
Ahead this hour, where is Natalee Holloway? We'll be live in Aruba as the search for the missing Alabama teen intensifies.

Plus, what exactly happened to Islam's holy book at Guantanamo Bay? The Pentagon finishes its investigation. We'll tell you what they discovered.

And there could be storm trouble in the nation's heartland. We'll tell you which states are at risk. Those stories in a moment. But first, here are the headlines.

Protesters march in Hong Kong to remember the Tiananmen Square massacre 16 years ago today in Beijing. The government tightened security but allowed no commemoration of the crack down. Hundreds of pro-democracy students died in 1989 when the Chinese government rolled tanks into the square.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is stepping up criticism of China. He questioned today why China is building up its military when, in Rumsfeld's opinion, it faces no threat. Rumsfeld made the comment at a security conference in Singapore with Chinese officials in attendance.

A tractor trailer carrying tires is burning in a tunnel connecting France and Italy. The eight-mile long route through the Alps is a main artery between Leone, France, and Turin, Italy. One injury is reported but it's not clear how many people, if any, could be trapped in that tunnel.

And in Washington, D.C., thousands of runners clogged the district today for the Race for the Cure. The 5k supports breast cancer research. The American Cancer Society predicts the disease will kill more than 40,000 American women and 460 American men this year.

The Pentagon says an inquiry indicates Muslim holy books have been mishandled at its detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The investigation was sparked by that recanted "Newsweek" story, claiming a copy of the Koran was flushed down a toilet. Kathleen Koch is live from the Pentagon with more details about the probe.

Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, this investigation found that while the mishandling of a Koran at Guantanamo Bay is "a rare occurrence and is never condoned," it has happened in a handful of instances. The investigation by Brigadier General Jay Hood found at least five. One incident, a guard apparently kicking a detainee's Koran. One case when a guard's urine splashed onto a detainee and his Koran through an air vent. There was an incident of water balloon fight between guards that got two Korans wet. And then two other incidents. One, a contract interrogators stepping on a detainee's Koran and then later apologizing. And finally, in the last incident, a two word obscenity in English was found written inside a detainee's Koran but, in that case, the detainee spoke English, so it could not be determined whether or not he had written the slur or whether or not it was a guard who had written that.

And also, very interestingly, the probe found some 15 instances when detainees themselves apparently did mishandle the Koran, their very own Koran. In one case, a detainee tore out pages. There were cases of them spitting on the Koran and a couple of cases of detainees even trying to flush their own Korans down the toilet. One expert who CNN spoke to on the Middle East said that he believes the Pentagon, though, has damage control to do above and beyond this investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDMUND GHAREEB, PROF. OF MIDEAST STUDIES: I think the findings are an important first step -- that admission that there has been a problem in dealing with issue of abuses and mishandling of the Koran. There's a recognition on the part of U.S. officials that this has caused a lot of problems. That this has helped undermine the U.S. image, U.S. reputation, U.S. credibility, in many parts of the world, not only in the Islamic world. And that this issue needs to be addressed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: The Pentagon believes that this was indeed a very thorough investigation. They looked at some 30,000 plus documents. And when it does comes to that initial allegation that got the probe going, the allegation that U.S. personnel may have themselves tried to flush a Koran down the toilet, the investigation found no evidence of that. Fredricka, they say, case closed.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kathleen, let's shift gears a little bit.

While Rumsfeld is in Singapore, apparently he has some rather harsh word for China. Why now?

KOCH: Very good question, Fredricka. And it is unclear as to why precisely he chose this form -- this regional security conference with representatives of China there in attendance. And interestingly, he not only questioned the need for China's very high defense spending, third only behind the U.S. and Russia, but he also encouraged the Chinese to push for more -- or to allow more enterprise in freedom of expression amongst their population. Saying that that would make them a more welcomed world partner.

So very tough words and perhaps, Fredricka, not a coincidence that they did come today on the 16th anniversary of that crackdown by China back in 1989 on those pro democracy demonstrators at Tiananmen Square.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kathleen Koch from the Pentagon.

Thanks so much.

Well, 10 more FBI agents have joined in the search for Natalee Holloway. The 18-year-old from Alabama disappeared while vacationing on the Caribbean island of Aruba. Holloway has not been seen since she left a nightclub early Monday. Relatives in Alabama don't believe she would have done anything irresponsible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIA TWITTY, NATALEE HOLLOWAY'S AUNT: This is a happy, intelligent, honor student. She's going to the University of Alabama this fall on a full academic scholarship. She -- you know, she's a dancer. Extreme -- she does a lot of volunteer work in the community. Very conscientious teenager. Very prompt. You know, a very prompt teenager. Very on time kind of responsible kid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A perplexing situation in Alabama as well as in Aruba and that's where our Karl Penhaul is now joining us by telephone with the level on the investigation.

Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, police agents have spent much of the afternoon so far at a hotel, which is being reserviced (ph) not far from the Holiday Inn where Natalee was actually staying during her time here in Aruba. So far though, police have given no indication whether they found anything. They also have refused to say until now what has led them to this particular hotel. What it does reflect, though, are, the police's own words, in that they are acting on many tips at this stage and they are acting and carrying out searches on many parts of the island. That's to say, in this particular case, this hotel had been under refurbishment for the best part of the last month.

Now earlier, around mid day, in a joint press conference between Natalee Holloway's mother, Beth Holloway-Twitty, and the police, Beth Holloway was saying that she was not prepared to leave Aruba without Natalee. She said the bags were packed and she was ready to take Natalee home. Also, the deputy police chief was saying that there are three hypothesis now that the police are acting on. One, that three men, who they're calling "persons of interests" at this stage, not exactly suspects, may have done something wrong to Natalee, in the deputy police chief's words. Secondly, that Natalee may have disappeared or gone missing on her own volition, on her own will. And thirdly, that their -- the third hypothesis is that this could be a kidnaping.

It must be said, however, that there is no history of violent crime against tourists on this island that lives very much from tourism, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So, Karl, if witnesses were able to see that there were three mysterious men that was with Ms. Holloway, where were her friends in this whole scenario? And how come no one intervened?

PENHAUL: Well, at this stage, at the time that Natalee Holloway was last seen, was about 1:30 a.m. early Monday morning. And she was seen by her friends leaving a bar, a Mexican bar known as Carlos 'n Charlie's. That's a bar used by many young people. A lot of dancing there. Even more drinking done there. And her friends simply saw her leaving with these three men.

Now these three men, according to police, are aged between 18 and 25. They're described as local residents. Now that means that they've been living on the island for many years, working in -- on the island. And those three men have been questioned but they haven't been detained or arrested at this stage, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Karl Penhaul thanks for that update, coming from Palm Beach, Aruba.

A pretty good chance many of us are going to see some stormy weather this weekend. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is here with a look of the weather.

Hello to you, Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui.

Pop Singer Michael Jackson's fate is now in the hands of a jury. How convincing were the lawyer's closing statements in Jackson's molestation trial? That story coming up next.

And still ahead, Lebanon buries its latest assassination victim. Are tensions in the middle eastern nation reaching the boiling point? We'll have a live report from Beirut.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The jury in the child molestation case against Michael Jackson has the weekend off. They'll resume their deliberations on Monday. Prosecution and defense attorneys completed their closing arguments on Friday. Rusty Dornin wraps up the action inside and outside the courtroom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): With his mother on his arm, his father close by, Michael Jackson gave one small wave to fans before going into what would be the last chance to sway the jury. Five of Jackson's brothers and sisters came to court -- the largest showing of the Jackson family since the early days of the trial. In his final two-hour plea to the panel, Defense Attorney Thomas Mesereau repeated described the accuser and his family as con artist, actors and liars. He asked the jury to question why the boy didn't claim molestation until after the family had seen two lawyers.

SUSAN FILAN, LEGAL ANALYST: He's not slurring the victim for the purpose of putting the victim on trial. He's slurring the victim because he thinks this victim is committing a fraud and a perjury on this court. And he even said to the jury, don't let them do it to you.

DORNIN: Mesereau urged the jury to consider reasonable doubt and to throw the case out the door. But Prosecutor Ron Zonen got the last word. He asked jurors, how could they believe that Jackson's practice of sleeping with boys was not sexual.

CRAIG SMITH, LEGAL ANALYST: If he sleeps with a boy who's 12 years old and he's a middle-aged man, if he sleeps with a boy 365 nights a year, that's not a friendship, that's a relationship.

DORNIN: The defense argued that Jackson would have been stupid to molest the accuser after the documentary aired. But prosecutors counter that Jackson would do it because he could and because the accuser was in love with him. The prosecution made their final impression by showing tape of the police interview with the accuser. Where the boy, in halting tones, claims Jackson molested him. Jackson's gaunt appearance in recent weeks has drawn questions about his health, as did his visit to a hospital this week.

RAYMONE BAIN, JACKSON SPOKESPERSON: It was not because he was sick, but because Mr. Gregory said, you look a little dehydrated and I feel that you need electrolytes.

DORNIN: Jackson has been to the hospital twice before during the trial, once complaining of back pain, another time with flu symptoms. And again, on his mother's arm and with the weak wave, Jackson left the courthouse to returned only when his fate has been decided.

When his fate has been decided, the judge told Jackson he has one hour to get to the courthouse. The jury deliberated less than two hours before going home for the weekend. They'll be back on Monday morning at 8:30. We've also learned there will be a live audio feed in the courtroom when the verdict is reached.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Santa Maria, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, the witnesses have been heard, the arguments have been made. But what else could lawyers in the Jackson trial have done to make their cases? Our own legal eagles will break down the legal strategies coming up next.

Plus, how far have coalition forces come in their effort to rebuild Iraq's armed forces? A status report still to come. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, back to the Michael Jackson trial and the closing statement. Our attorneys, Richard Herman and Avery Friedman, have been following the case from the very beginning and giving us play by play every week and now here we are together again.

We're in the final lap, gentlemen.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You sure you want to talk about this, Fred?

WHITFIELD: Hard to believe, isn't it?

HERMAN: Unbelievable.

WHITFIELD: All right, Richard, let me begin with you.

Prosecution making closing arguments. Were they very effective?

HERMAN: Well, Fredricka, both sides were very effective. I mean, Mesereau delivered an outstanding summation. And the prosecution, I've been critical of them throughout the trial, but they peeked at the right time. It was a great move by Zonen doing the summation rather than Sneddon. And they peeked in ending with that video, I think that's going to bring convictions. I really do.

WHITFIELD: And really focusing on the pattern and Michael Jackson's weirdness.

HERMAN: Well, here the problem, Fredricka. If this jury believes that Michael Jackson has molested in the past, which I think they have to agree to that. I mean the youth pastor testified point blank un-rebutted he was molested. Now they have Michael in the room, with the accuser, drunk, with tons of pornography all over the place. I mean, it's not a big leap of faith at that point to believe, after the child testified he was molested on at least two times, I think Michael's going to go down, two counts of molestation.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

Avery, do you think it would have been a mistake had it been Sneddon making closing statements and not Zonen? Given that there have been -- there's been so much made about this relationship, or lack thereof, or lack of any kind of sympathy from Sneddon in terms of Michael Jackson.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, LAW PROFESSOR: Let me tell you something, the good judgment had nothing to do with perception of Tom Sneddon. He used Ron Zonen, a much better lawyer. And what Zonen did -- here's difference in style, Fredricka. Ron Zonen took a professorial, a very meticulous approach, and explained to the jury each and every detail. It was a wonderful closing argument.

But you can't understatement Tom Mesereau. Unlike Ron Zonen, what Tom did was used a very emotional argument. And yet the difference in style presented the jury with putting all the pieces together. And now they have a very, very tough job to do.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, Richard, might that have made it that much more difficult for the jurors? Do you think they would have made up their mind already before hearing closing statements? Or that hearing the defense use emotion, as Avery was saying, could really indeed make a difference?

HERMAN: Well we, as lawyers, like to think maybe the emotion does help. At least I do. I'm very emotional in my approaches. But a lot of these jurors could have had their minds made up, Fredricka. This was a long trial. And, you know, at some point along the line, they could have, you know, made their mind up. But I just want to remind you of one thing, this is a very conservative jurisdiction. This is not Los Angeles County where the O.J. Simpson trial was. And when you walk into that courtroom and enter that front gate up front, the judge is white, the jury's white, the prosecution's white and the defense is white.

FRIEDMAN: Oh, no, we're bridging race into it. I can't believe your bringing race into this. I mean, please.

HERMAN: Absolutely!

Avery, if you don't think that makes a difference, please! It really does.

WHITFIELD: Why does it make a difference? And there's, what, eight women, four men or vice versa?

FRIEDMAN: Yes. I think the makeup of the jury is significant. And I appreciate the argument. Look, I'm in the race business. A race is clearly a significant issue. But in a case like this, I mean the truth is that you don't know what Michael Jackson is. Is he a man? Is he a woman? Is he black? Is he white? He's -- Richard's right in the sense that the jury makeup is significant. I don't see race as a factor.

But what I do see here is, to what extent is this jury now going to jump? The main task right now, Fredricka, is they're going to have to select a foreperson who's going to guide what's going to happen. And unlike the O.J. case, it's going to take a great deal of time, a great deal of thought. You know, if we come back next Saturday to talk about what the jury's going to do, my hunch is that they will not have reached a verdict on all the charges here. We've got 10 of them to deal with.

WHITFIELD: Well, interestingly. If not race or even celebrity were factors in this case, something the defense did try to make a factor was the credibility of the accuser's mother and tried to hammer that home, again, during closing statements. Does it matter? Will the jurors feel like it matters about what the mother's potential motivation may be given that the accuser was on tape and they got to see it more than once?

HERMAN: Fredricka, that's the whole defense. I mean, that's the entire defense. Tom Mesereau put all his beans in that one basket. I'm going to discredit this mother. I'm going to show . . .

WHITFIELD: Was it a convincing argument?

HERMAN: I think it was very convincing, expect that we're in a very conservative jurisdiction. There's a 45-year-old man sleeping with 13-year-old boys. And the celebrity, the power of celebrity, I don't believe is going to be enough in this jurisdiction to get him off. I think he's going down.

FRIEDMAN: Conservative -- conservative or liberal? The fact is, what's locked in the mind of the jury, honestly, is that last piece of video at the police department in July of 2003 where we saw the accused making the statement hesitantly. Again, there's reasonable doubt all over.

WHITFIELD: And some say being coached by the police.

FRIEDMAN: Well, some argue that. In fact, the defense basically argued, well, look at how hesitant he was here and yet look at how he testified in the courtroom. So we have a difference in demeanor. But the bottom line is, that is stuck in the minds of the jurors and that's what they're going to start out their deliberation with.

WHITFIELD: Richard, you say he's going down on at least two counts of the child molestation of the four out of 10 whole counts?

HERMAN: I think the accuser clearly testified to two counts where he was molested by Michael Jackson. And if you couple that with the video, which he did not come across scripted in. Don't forget, the whole premise of the defense . . .

FRIEDMAN: That's right.

HERMAN: Was that the mother scripted these kid and caused them to be actors here. That boy, if he appeared to be scripted, Michael's going to walk. But from all the analysis coming out of that courthouse, that was a very compelling video. He did not look scripted. He tried to protect Michael.

WHITFIELD: And, Avery, are you seeing this . . .

FRIEDMAN: And what's -- wait a minute. What's . . .

WHITFIELD: Go ahead.

FRIEDMAN: I was going to say, then what's his prediction on this? What does Richard think is going to happen?

HERMAN: Two counts guilty on molestation. On the conspiracy count, he's probably going to walk on that or get a hung jury on that. And on the alcohol issue, probably the lesser included conviction on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FRIEDMAN: See you soon. Take care. WHITFIELD: The battle for the future of Lebanon. As the middle eastern nation buries its latest assassination victim, what do the high-profile attacks mean for that nation's impending elections? We'll have a live report from Beirut ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Bottom of the hour now. Here's a look at headlines.

Natalee Holloway's mother and stepfather in Aruba to search for the missing 18-year-old Alabaman. Holloway was on the Caribbean island with several other students from Birmingham, but has not been seen since early Monday. Ten additional FBI agents are joining three others already assisting in that search.

The U.S. military has completed an investigation into whether there have been abuses of the Quran at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center. Four instances of U.S. personnel mishandling the holy book were uncovered, and the report says several detainees defaced or flushed their own copies.

Justine Henin-Hardenne dominated Mary Pierce to win the French Open today. The Belgian tennis star won 6-1, 6-1. It's a dramatic comeback for Henin-Hardenne. This is her first major event since coming back from a blood virus that kept her off of the court for seven months.

The murder of an anti-Syrian journalist in Beirut this week has focused attention on growing tensions inside Lebanon. The nation is in the process of electing a new parliament, and the struggle is on for control of the country. CNN's senior international correspondent Brent Sadler joins us live from Beirut.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Fredricka. A second round of parliamentary voting gets underway here Sunday amid fears of rising violence that could jeopardize the ballot. FBI agents are now on the case of the murdered journalist at the request of the Lebanese authorities. But as always in these kind of murders in Lebanon, the killers are still at large.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER (voice over): He was buried by local tradition a martyr -- the coffin bearing Lebanon's latest victim of unidentified assassins held high. The funeral of front-page newspaper columnist Samir Kassir, blown up in a car bomb attack Thursday -- a citizen of both Lebanon and France, his murder drawing international outrage. The ambassadors of France and the United States prominent in this Greek Orthodox church. Aisles are packed with mourners, lamenting the loss of a widely read Arab intellectual, a blow to freedom of speech, they claim, in an increasingly vicious battle for control of Lebanon.

(on camera) The assassinated journalist is described by opposition leaders as a hero of Lebanon's independence movement, murdered, they claim, for his scathing attacks on Syria, the same opposition whose ranks claim, they too, are now in grave danger.

JAMIL MROUE, DAILY STAR NEWSPAPER: Very vulnerable. They are targets. They are on the crosshairs of somebody as we speak. Of that, there is no question.

SADLER (voice over): Saad Hariri, the son and political heir of assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, joined mourners, supporting the writer's grief-stricken family enduring emotional ruin.

But Hariri and his stony-faced political allies in the Lebanese opposition say they are now being forced to curtail their public appearances in the face of death threats -- an attempt, they claim, to sabotage parliamentary elections.

WALID JUMBLATT, DRUZE LEADER: We have to continue. We'll continue peacefully, democratically. They will continue killing us. But in the final analysis, we'll win.

SADLER (voice over): A struggle the opposition aims to turn on staunch Syrian ally Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, with protests planned against him early next week. An increasingly dangerous battle of opposing political wills, say observers here, with a continuing risk of violent results.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER: It has been 111 days since the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and Lebanese are no nearer to finding the truth behind that killing than they were all those days ago.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, Brent, what kind of efforts are behind trying to find the killers of this journalist?

SADLER: Well on many levels. As far as Samir Kassir is concerned, there's both an FBI team here working on the ground with Lebanese investigators, and French investigators are also joining in the hunt, trying to connect the dots, and more importantly, trying to find out whether or not there is any connection between the killing of the journalist and the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri back on Valentine's Day earlier this year. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so Brent, is there a good explanation as to why the FBI is involved in this as well?

SADLER: Certainly, the United States has been putting on immense pressure here in Lebanon for the Lebanese authorities to conduct a transparent investigation with the right kind of expertise because of what's now at stake here -- Lebanon independence, the movement is at stake here; the movement that President George W. Bush supported at the height of the so-called Cedar Resolution here. Having FBI agents on the ground certainly satisfies U.S. interests in that respect.

WHITFIELD: All right, Brent Sadler in Beirut. Thanks so much.

A big arrest in Iraq. The Defense Ministry says forces have captured a top lieutenant to Abu Musab al Zarqawi. Officials describe Mullah Mahdi, or "The Prince," as a significant player in al Zarqawi's operation.

Insurgents are targeting police again this weekend. A suicide car bomber killed two officers in the northern city of Mosul. Two other officers were wounded today in a similar explosion in Baghdad. And in northwestern Iraq near the Syrian border, U.S. troops are sweeping remote towns for insurgents. CNN's Jane Arraf, embed with military, says some 4,000 troops have arrived in the region.

Slowly, steadily, Iraqi soldiers and police are shouldering more responsibility for their country's security. Here's CNN's Jane Arraf.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The U.S. launched this as a war against terrorism. But increasingly, they're leaving it to the Iraqis to fight. The U.S.-led coalition dissolved Iraq's huge army after the war and started rebuilding it from scratch. Two years later, the Iraqi army is far from capable of securing the country. But there is progress.

(on camera) In this historic building, this ceremony is part of a process in which the Iraqi army is increasingly taking over parts of Baghdad.

(voice over) This is Iraq's old defense ministry, bombed by the United States in the 1991 Gulf War and rebuilt in the last year. The ceremony transferred authority for key a part of the capital from the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division to the Iraqi army.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the second Iraqi army brigade headquarters to be activated in Baghdad and the second of many more to come.

ARRAF (voice over): In the spotlight of the new Iraqi media, the U.S. Army handed over nominal authority, at least, for the Rasafa District of Baghdad. The Iraqi's Second Brigade, 6th Division, is known as the "Tiger Brigade."

Unlike the days of Saddam Hussein, there are no tanks, no cannons, but there is an increasingly independent army taking part in its growing responsibilities. Brigadier General Jaleel Talif Amer, commander of the 1st Brigade, said the army wouldn't make empty promises to the Iraqi people.

BRIG. GEN. JALEEL TALIF AMER, IRAQ 1ST BRIGADE COMMANDER: But we do promise that we will arrest the terrorists, and we'll work night and day to bring security, he said. On overnight missions this week, his soldiers spread out in Baghdad as part of "Operation Lightning," billed as the biggest Iraqi security operation ever.

Although it hasn't been nearly as large or widespread as Iraqi authorities had pledged, it has shown the Iraqi army increasingly taking the lead in security operations, allowing them to forge their own successes and make their own mistakes.

Jane Arraf, CNN, Baghdad.

WHITFIELD: Is North Korea changing the way it powers its missiles? New intelligence suggests that just might be the case. We'll explain why that's raising a big red flag in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN JORDAN, CEO, BOJ ENTERPRISES: The one advice I would give is to always have a Plan B.

ANNOUNCER: Atlanta Braves' outfielder Brian Jordan is thinking beyond the game of baseball. He's now stepping up to the plate in a new league: real estate development.

JORDAN: Les Jardin is a community that we're building in South Fulton, Georgia. We're trying to change the economic structure.

ANNOUNCER: Jordan is also revitalizing a neighborhood in downtown Atlanta with his Century Lofts development.

JORDAN: You have to have great leadership skills, be patient, develop your people skills to be successful.

ANNOUNCER: Despite a growing list of accomplishments, Jordan says there's one thing he has yet to do.

JORDAN: Opening up my youth center. That's where my heart is.

ANNOUNCER: Jordan's Sports Center for Excellence, which will house underprivileged children and provide academic and athletic programs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: U.S. Intelligence experts are following a disturbing development in North Korea. The regime may have mastered a new fuel technology that could keep missiles hidden from U.S. satellites.

Here's our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): North Korea's firing of a Russian-designed SS-21 surface-to-surface missile like this last month was likely its first successful test of a missile totally reliant on solid fuel, U.S. officials tell CNN.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: If the North Koreans have mastered solid fuel rockets, that would be an important development. STARR: North Korea's current liquid-fueled missiles use a combination of gasoline and kerosene. Satellites can watch for days as they are set up on launch pads with fuel trucks and hoses.

With new solid-fueled missiles, there are no trucks and hoses. The solid fuel has a consistency like cookie dough. The fuel can stay inside of the missile for years. U.S. satellites have much less ability to watch for a launch.

MCLAUGHLIN: They're much harder to detect. They can be moved more readily, and they're more portable, of course. And they can be launched with much less notice and less time than a liquid-fueled rocket.

STARR: Another urgent U.S. intelligence concern, Syria's missile program. U.S. intelligence officials confirm Syria took the highly unusual step of test firing three Scud missiles last week. The tests of so many missiles at once is seen as defiance of U.S. criticism of Syria's role in Lebanon and its support of the Iraq insurgency.

And U.S. intelligence believes North Korea aided the Syrian test. One official points out, one of the missiles was a North Korean design.

(on camera): There is more. Iran now says it's adding solid fuel to one of its missiles that is capable of hitting Israel, all part of the concern that a new round of missile threats is emerging.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And stay tuned to CNN, day and night, for the most reliable news about your security.

Up next, we'll go inside the "NOVAK ZONE" with one of Ronald Reagan's long-time aides. But first this week marks CNN's 25th anniversary. What did the rest of the media industry think about the start-up network?

Here is Disney's, Michael Eisner.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL EISNER, CEO, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY: When CNN came on, so many people thought: What is this insanity? Cable news, like cable music? What is going on? What is this Ted Turner doing?

And I remember one night Barry Diller called me up and said, " You know, I just watched just watched CNN. It looks just as good as ABC news." I said, "You're kidding?" So I turned it on, we started talking about it back and forth, and we knew at that point that there was a new guy in town and we'd better wake up.

Now of course it was years before either of us had any responsibility for news operations, but in the beginning, everybody was so skeptical about anything new.

And Ted Turner is really one of the truly gifted media entrepreneurs, who had an idea and just didn't let anybody tell him it was a terrible idea. He proved everybody else wrong. It's amazing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, today on the "NOVAK ZONE," Bob spends a few minutes with Michael Deaver. Deaver, who was one of Ronald Reagan's closest advisers both in and out of the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NOVAK: Welcome to the "NOVAK ZONE," we're in downtown Washington, D.C. with Reagan's longtime aide and personal friend, Michael K. Deaver, in Mr. Deaver's office. Mr. Deaver is the editor of a new book "Why I Am A Reagan Conservative."

Mike Deaver, What is a Reagan conservative?

MICHAEL DEAVER, FMR. WHITE HOUSE DEP. CHIEF OF STAFF: That's a good question.

I think a Reagan conservative is somebody who believes in limited government; somebody who believes that government's not the answer; somebody who believes in individual freedom and liberty, and, for Reagan, also free trade.

NOVAK: You worked for him in the -- when he was governor of the state of California and then you worked for him in his private office between being governor and president.

What was Ronald Reagan before he became President Reagan?

Was there a difference?

DEAVER: None.

Reagan was always the same, night or day; year in, year out.

I always say that all of us changed in some way coming back here to Washington, but Reagan never changed.

NOVAK: You were present in that terrible day in 1981, when an attempted assassin grievously wounded President Reagan.

Do you think that, that -- the terrible wounds he suffered changed him in any important way for the balance of his presidency?

DEAVER: I do.

I think the act changed him because he told me it changed him. And it changed him to the extent that he said, "I'm going to rely on my own instincts more than I have before."

And you saw -- or I saw in anyway -- a stubbornness that came to him after that, particularly as it affected his decisions vis-a-vis the Soviets in how he wanted to deal with them -- not rely on the state department and their advisers, but do it his way.

NOVAK: One of the really famous Reagan speeches was his Normandy speech, on the anniversary 1984, called "A Defining Moment" in his presidency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD REAGAN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc, these are the men who took the cliffs, these are the champions who helped free a continent, and these are the heroes who helped end a war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOVAK: Mike Deaver, Why is that an important speech?

DEAVER: Well, I think it was -- it was an iteration of Reagan's strong belief in the value of democracy and the value in fighting for it.

And that America stood for something almost as an island in the world and what it was, was a remembrance of, as he called them, the boys of Pointe du Hoc, who were then in their seventies and eighties, and what they had given to freedom.

NOVAK: Another famous presidential speech by Ronald Reagan was when -- is credited with helping to bring an end to the cold war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAGAN: General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace; if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe; if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate.

Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate!

(APPLAUSE)

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOVAK: Were you surprised to hear the president call for Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall?

DEAVER: No, not at all, because he -- remember this is the guy that called it an evil empire, so -- but I think one of the interesting things about that speech -- you, of course, knew Kennedy and others in your career -- go back and look at that as we just saw it, and Reagan doesn't use an arm or a fist or pound the podium, it was all within his soul and his voice.

There was no theatrics to it.

He simply said "tear down the wall."

NOVAK: One more famous speech was his memorial speech for the space shuttle Challenger after it crashed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAGAN: The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey, and waved good-bye. And slipped the surely bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.

NOVAK: But what made Ronald Reagan such a great communicator?

DEAVER: Because he was us.

He basically said "I am you, follow me."

And we did.

NOVAK: And just a year ago when he died, people who were really on the other side from him were singing his praises.

That's what happens to the Franklin Roosevelts and the Ronald Reagans, isn't it?

DEAVER: That's right.

They both changed America in the last century -- both remarkably.

NOVAK: Yes, and now the big question for Michael Deaver.

In the last year, Mr. Deaver, what has changed or what have we learned about the legacy, for America, of Ronald Reagan?

DEAVER: Well, I think one of the things that is becoming more and more apparent about Ronald Reagan is how much he read and wrote.

There people and scholars now who are delving through these thousands and thousands of memos, and letters, and scripts that he wrote throughout his life. Most people thought he was, you know, sort of a light intellectual.

And I think what's happening is that we're now learning that this was a very serious man.

NOVAK: Mike Deaver, thank you, very much.

And thank you for being in the "NOVAK ZONE."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you can catch more of Bob Novak tonight at 7:00 Eastern on the "CAPITAL GANG."

Tonight's guest is one of the men who had been on a lot of people's "Deep Throat" short list, former Nixon aide John Sears.

Still much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY.

At the top of the hour, "CNN PRESENTS."

We take you along with the first President Bush as he returns to the place where he was shot down in 1944 during World War II.

At 4:00 Eastern, "CNN LIVE SATURDAY," the life and times a celebrated and controversial military maverick.

And at 5:00 Eastern, as the anniversary of the invasion of Normandy approaches, "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" takes a look at that historic day through the eyes of four U.S. veterans.

"CNN PRESENTS" starts right after this.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired June 4, 2005 - 14:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is 2:00 p.m. on the East Coast, 11:00 a.m. in the West. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta.
Ahead this hour, where is Natalee Holloway? We'll be live in Aruba as the search for the missing Alabama teen intensifies.

Plus, what exactly happened to Islam's holy book at Guantanamo Bay? The Pentagon finishes its investigation. We'll tell you what they discovered.

And there could be storm trouble in the nation's heartland. We'll tell you which states are at risk. Those stories in a moment. But first, here are the headlines.

Protesters march in Hong Kong to remember the Tiananmen Square massacre 16 years ago today in Beijing. The government tightened security but allowed no commemoration of the crack down. Hundreds of pro-democracy students died in 1989 when the Chinese government rolled tanks into the square.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is stepping up criticism of China. He questioned today why China is building up its military when, in Rumsfeld's opinion, it faces no threat. Rumsfeld made the comment at a security conference in Singapore with Chinese officials in attendance.

A tractor trailer carrying tires is burning in a tunnel connecting France and Italy. The eight-mile long route through the Alps is a main artery between Leone, France, and Turin, Italy. One injury is reported but it's not clear how many people, if any, could be trapped in that tunnel.

And in Washington, D.C., thousands of runners clogged the district today for the Race for the Cure. The 5k supports breast cancer research. The American Cancer Society predicts the disease will kill more than 40,000 American women and 460 American men this year.

The Pentagon says an inquiry indicates Muslim holy books have been mishandled at its detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The investigation was sparked by that recanted "Newsweek" story, claiming a copy of the Koran was flushed down a toilet. Kathleen Koch is live from the Pentagon with more details about the probe.

Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, this investigation found that while the mishandling of a Koran at Guantanamo Bay is "a rare occurrence and is never condoned," it has happened in a handful of instances. The investigation by Brigadier General Jay Hood found at least five. One incident, a guard apparently kicking a detainee's Koran. One case when a guard's urine splashed onto a detainee and his Koran through an air vent. There was an incident of water balloon fight between guards that got two Korans wet. And then two other incidents. One, a contract interrogators stepping on a detainee's Koran and then later apologizing. And finally, in the last incident, a two word obscenity in English was found written inside a detainee's Koran but, in that case, the detainee spoke English, so it could not be determined whether or not he had written the slur or whether or not it was a guard who had written that.

And also, very interestingly, the probe found some 15 instances when detainees themselves apparently did mishandle the Koran, their very own Koran. In one case, a detainee tore out pages. There were cases of them spitting on the Koran and a couple of cases of detainees even trying to flush their own Korans down the toilet. One expert who CNN spoke to on the Middle East said that he believes the Pentagon, though, has damage control to do above and beyond this investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDMUND GHAREEB, PROF. OF MIDEAST STUDIES: I think the findings are an important first step -- that admission that there has been a problem in dealing with issue of abuses and mishandling of the Koran. There's a recognition on the part of U.S. officials that this has caused a lot of problems. That this has helped undermine the U.S. image, U.S. reputation, U.S. credibility, in many parts of the world, not only in the Islamic world. And that this issue needs to be addressed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: The Pentagon believes that this was indeed a very thorough investigation. They looked at some 30,000 plus documents. And when it does comes to that initial allegation that got the probe going, the allegation that U.S. personnel may have themselves tried to flush a Koran down the toilet, the investigation found no evidence of that. Fredricka, they say, case closed.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kathleen, let's shift gears a little bit.

While Rumsfeld is in Singapore, apparently he has some rather harsh word for China. Why now?

KOCH: Very good question, Fredricka. And it is unclear as to why precisely he chose this form -- this regional security conference with representatives of China there in attendance. And interestingly, he not only questioned the need for China's very high defense spending, third only behind the U.S. and Russia, but he also encouraged the Chinese to push for more -- or to allow more enterprise in freedom of expression amongst their population. Saying that that would make them a more welcomed world partner.

So very tough words and perhaps, Fredricka, not a coincidence that they did come today on the 16th anniversary of that crackdown by China back in 1989 on those pro democracy demonstrators at Tiananmen Square.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kathleen Koch from the Pentagon.

Thanks so much.

Well, 10 more FBI agents have joined in the search for Natalee Holloway. The 18-year-old from Alabama disappeared while vacationing on the Caribbean island of Aruba. Holloway has not been seen since she left a nightclub early Monday. Relatives in Alabama don't believe she would have done anything irresponsible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIA TWITTY, NATALEE HOLLOWAY'S AUNT: This is a happy, intelligent, honor student. She's going to the University of Alabama this fall on a full academic scholarship. She -- you know, she's a dancer. Extreme -- she does a lot of volunteer work in the community. Very conscientious teenager. Very prompt. You know, a very prompt teenager. Very on time kind of responsible kid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A perplexing situation in Alabama as well as in Aruba and that's where our Karl Penhaul is now joining us by telephone with the level on the investigation.

Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, police agents have spent much of the afternoon so far at a hotel, which is being reserviced (ph) not far from the Holiday Inn where Natalee was actually staying during her time here in Aruba. So far though, police have given no indication whether they found anything. They also have refused to say until now what has led them to this particular hotel. What it does reflect, though, are, the police's own words, in that they are acting on many tips at this stage and they are acting and carrying out searches on many parts of the island. That's to say, in this particular case, this hotel had been under refurbishment for the best part of the last month.

Now earlier, around mid day, in a joint press conference between Natalee Holloway's mother, Beth Holloway-Twitty, and the police, Beth Holloway was saying that she was not prepared to leave Aruba without Natalee. She said the bags were packed and she was ready to take Natalee home. Also, the deputy police chief was saying that there are three hypothesis now that the police are acting on. One, that three men, who they're calling "persons of interests" at this stage, not exactly suspects, may have done something wrong to Natalee, in the deputy police chief's words. Secondly, that Natalee may have disappeared or gone missing on her own volition, on her own will. And thirdly, that their -- the third hypothesis is that this could be a kidnaping.

It must be said, however, that there is no history of violent crime against tourists on this island that lives very much from tourism, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So, Karl, if witnesses were able to see that there were three mysterious men that was with Ms. Holloway, where were her friends in this whole scenario? And how come no one intervened?

PENHAUL: Well, at this stage, at the time that Natalee Holloway was last seen, was about 1:30 a.m. early Monday morning. And she was seen by her friends leaving a bar, a Mexican bar known as Carlos 'n Charlie's. That's a bar used by many young people. A lot of dancing there. Even more drinking done there. And her friends simply saw her leaving with these three men.

Now these three men, according to police, are aged between 18 and 25. They're described as local residents. Now that means that they've been living on the island for many years, working in -- on the island. And those three men have been questioned but they haven't been detained or arrested at this stage, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Karl Penhaul thanks for that update, coming from Palm Beach, Aruba.

A pretty good chance many of us are going to see some stormy weather this weekend. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is here with a look of the weather.

Hello to you, Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui.

Pop Singer Michael Jackson's fate is now in the hands of a jury. How convincing were the lawyer's closing statements in Jackson's molestation trial? That story coming up next.

And still ahead, Lebanon buries its latest assassination victim. Are tensions in the middle eastern nation reaching the boiling point? We'll have a live report from Beirut.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The jury in the child molestation case against Michael Jackson has the weekend off. They'll resume their deliberations on Monday. Prosecution and defense attorneys completed their closing arguments on Friday. Rusty Dornin wraps up the action inside and outside the courtroom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): With his mother on his arm, his father close by, Michael Jackson gave one small wave to fans before going into what would be the last chance to sway the jury. Five of Jackson's brothers and sisters came to court -- the largest showing of the Jackson family since the early days of the trial. In his final two-hour plea to the panel, Defense Attorney Thomas Mesereau repeated described the accuser and his family as con artist, actors and liars. He asked the jury to question why the boy didn't claim molestation until after the family had seen two lawyers.

SUSAN FILAN, LEGAL ANALYST: He's not slurring the victim for the purpose of putting the victim on trial. He's slurring the victim because he thinks this victim is committing a fraud and a perjury on this court. And he even said to the jury, don't let them do it to you.

DORNIN: Mesereau urged the jury to consider reasonable doubt and to throw the case out the door. But Prosecutor Ron Zonen got the last word. He asked jurors, how could they believe that Jackson's practice of sleeping with boys was not sexual.

CRAIG SMITH, LEGAL ANALYST: If he sleeps with a boy who's 12 years old and he's a middle-aged man, if he sleeps with a boy 365 nights a year, that's not a friendship, that's a relationship.

DORNIN: The defense argued that Jackson would have been stupid to molest the accuser after the documentary aired. But prosecutors counter that Jackson would do it because he could and because the accuser was in love with him. The prosecution made their final impression by showing tape of the police interview with the accuser. Where the boy, in halting tones, claims Jackson molested him. Jackson's gaunt appearance in recent weeks has drawn questions about his health, as did his visit to a hospital this week.

RAYMONE BAIN, JACKSON SPOKESPERSON: It was not because he was sick, but because Mr. Gregory said, you look a little dehydrated and I feel that you need electrolytes.

DORNIN: Jackson has been to the hospital twice before during the trial, once complaining of back pain, another time with flu symptoms. And again, on his mother's arm and with the weak wave, Jackson left the courthouse to returned only when his fate has been decided.

When his fate has been decided, the judge told Jackson he has one hour to get to the courthouse. The jury deliberated less than two hours before going home for the weekend. They'll be back on Monday morning at 8:30. We've also learned there will be a live audio feed in the courtroom when the verdict is reached.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Santa Maria, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, the witnesses have been heard, the arguments have been made. But what else could lawyers in the Jackson trial have done to make their cases? Our own legal eagles will break down the legal strategies coming up next.

Plus, how far have coalition forces come in their effort to rebuild Iraq's armed forces? A status report still to come. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, back to the Michael Jackson trial and the closing statement. Our attorneys, Richard Herman and Avery Friedman, have been following the case from the very beginning and giving us play by play every week and now here we are together again.

We're in the final lap, gentlemen.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You sure you want to talk about this, Fred?

WHITFIELD: Hard to believe, isn't it?

HERMAN: Unbelievable.

WHITFIELD: All right, Richard, let me begin with you.

Prosecution making closing arguments. Were they very effective?

HERMAN: Well, Fredricka, both sides were very effective. I mean, Mesereau delivered an outstanding summation. And the prosecution, I've been critical of them throughout the trial, but they peeked at the right time. It was a great move by Zonen doing the summation rather than Sneddon. And they peeked in ending with that video, I think that's going to bring convictions. I really do.

WHITFIELD: And really focusing on the pattern and Michael Jackson's weirdness.

HERMAN: Well, here the problem, Fredricka. If this jury believes that Michael Jackson has molested in the past, which I think they have to agree to that. I mean the youth pastor testified point blank un-rebutted he was molested. Now they have Michael in the room, with the accuser, drunk, with tons of pornography all over the place. I mean, it's not a big leap of faith at that point to believe, after the child testified he was molested on at least two times, I think Michael's going to go down, two counts of molestation.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

Avery, do you think it would have been a mistake had it been Sneddon making closing statements and not Zonen? Given that there have been -- there's been so much made about this relationship, or lack thereof, or lack of any kind of sympathy from Sneddon in terms of Michael Jackson.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, LAW PROFESSOR: Let me tell you something, the good judgment had nothing to do with perception of Tom Sneddon. He used Ron Zonen, a much better lawyer. And what Zonen did -- here's difference in style, Fredricka. Ron Zonen took a professorial, a very meticulous approach, and explained to the jury each and every detail. It was a wonderful closing argument.

But you can't understatement Tom Mesereau. Unlike Ron Zonen, what Tom did was used a very emotional argument. And yet the difference in style presented the jury with putting all the pieces together. And now they have a very, very tough job to do.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, Richard, might that have made it that much more difficult for the jurors? Do you think they would have made up their mind already before hearing closing statements? Or that hearing the defense use emotion, as Avery was saying, could really indeed make a difference?

HERMAN: Well we, as lawyers, like to think maybe the emotion does help. At least I do. I'm very emotional in my approaches. But a lot of these jurors could have had their minds made up, Fredricka. This was a long trial. And, you know, at some point along the line, they could have, you know, made their mind up. But I just want to remind you of one thing, this is a very conservative jurisdiction. This is not Los Angeles County where the O.J. Simpson trial was. And when you walk into that courtroom and enter that front gate up front, the judge is white, the jury's white, the prosecution's white and the defense is white.

FRIEDMAN: Oh, no, we're bridging race into it. I can't believe your bringing race into this. I mean, please.

HERMAN: Absolutely!

Avery, if you don't think that makes a difference, please! It really does.

WHITFIELD: Why does it make a difference? And there's, what, eight women, four men or vice versa?

FRIEDMAN: Yes. I think the makeup of the jury is significant. And I appreciate the argument. Look, I'm in the race business. A race is clearly a significant issue. But in a case like this, I mean the truth is that you don't know what Michael Jackson is. Is he a man? Is he a woman? Is he black? Is he white? He's -- Richard's right in the sense that the jury makeup is significant. I don't see race as a factor.

But what I do see here is, to what extent is this jury now going to jump? The main task right now, Fredricka, is they're going to have to select a foreperson who's going to guide what's going to happen. And unlike the O.J. case, it's going to take a great deal of time, a great deal of thought. You know, if we come back next Saturday to talk about what the jury's going to do, my hunch is that they will not have reached a verdict on all the charges here. We've got 10 of them to deal with.

WHITFIELD: Well, interestingly. If not race or even celebrity were factors in this case, something the defense did try to make a factor was the credibility of the accuser's mother and tried to hammer that home, again, during closing statements. Does it matter? Will the jurors feel like it matters about what the mother's potential motivation may be given that the accuser was on tape and they got to see it more than once?

HERMAN: Fredricka, that's the whole defense. I mean, that's the entire defense. Tom Mesereau put all his beans in that one basket. I'm going to discredit this mother. I'm going to show . . .

WHITFIELD: Was it a convincing argument?

HERMAN: I think it was very convincing, expect that we're in a very conservative jurisdiction. There's a 45-year-old man sleeping with 13-year-old boys. And the celebrity, the power of celebrity, I don't believe is going to be enough in this jurisdiction to get him off. I think he's going down.

FRIEDMAN: Conservative -- conservative or liberal? The fact is, what's locked in the mind of the jury, honestly, is that last piece of video at the police department in July of 2003 where we saw the accused making the statement hesitantly. Again, there's reasonable doubt all over.

WHITFIELD: And some say being coached by the police.

FRIEDMAN: Well, some argue that. In fact, the defense basically argued, well, look at how hesitant he was here and yet look at how he testified in the courtroom. So we have a difference in demeanor. But the bottom line is, that is stuck in the minds of the jurors and that's what they're going to start out their deliberation with.

WHITFIELD: Richard, you say he's going down on at least two counts of the child molestation of the four out of 10 whole counts?

HERMAN: I think the accuser clearly testified to two counts where he was molested by Michael Jackson. And if you couple that with the video, which he did not come across scripted in. Don't forget, the whole premise of the defense . . .

FRIEDMAN: That's right.

HERMAN: Was that the mother scripted these kid and caused them to be actors here. That boy, if he appeared to be scripted, Michael's going to walk. But from all the analysis coming out of that courthouse, that was a very compelling video. He did not look scripted. He tried to protect Michael.

WHITFIELD: And, Avery, are you seeing this . . .

FRIEDMAN: And what's -- wait a minute. What's . . .

WHITFIELD: Go ahead.

FRIEDMAN: I was going to say, then what's his prediction on this? What does Richard think is going to happen?

HERMAN: Two counts guilty on molestation. On the conspiracy count, he's probably going to walk on that or get a hung jury on that. And on the alcohol issue, probably the lesser included conviction on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FRIEDMAN: See you soon. Take care. WHITFIELD: The battle for the future of Lebanon. As the middle eastern nation buries its latest assassination victim, what do the high-profile attacks mean for that nation's impending elections? We'll have a live report from Beirut ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Bottom of the hour now. Here's a look at headlines.

Natalee Holloway's mother and stepfather in Aruba to search for the missing 18-year-old Alabaman. Holloway was on the Caribbean island with several other students from Birmingham, but has not been seen since early Monday. Ten additional FBI agents are joining three others already assisting in that search.

The U.S. military has completed an investigation into whether there have been abuses of the Quran at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center. Four instances of U.S. personnel mishandling the holy book were uncovered, and the report says several detainees defaced or flushed their own copies.

Justine Henin-Hardenne dominated Mary Pierce to win the French Open today. The Belgian tennis star won 6-1, 6-1. It's a dramatic comeback for Henin-Hardenne. This is her first major event since coming back from a blood virus that kept her off of the court for seven months.

The murder of an anti-Syrian journalist in Beirut this week has focused attention on growing tensions inside Lebanon. The nation is in the process of electing a new parliament, and the struggle is on for control of the country. CNN's senior international correspondent Brent Sadler joins us live from Beirut.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Fredricka. A second round of parliamentary voting gets underway here Sunday amid fears of rising violence that could jeopardize the ballot. FBI agents are now on the case of the murdered journalist at the request of the Lebanese authorities. But as always in these kind of murders in Lebanon, the killers are still at large.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER (voice over): He was buried by local tradition a martyr -- the coffin bearing Lebanon's latest victim of unidentified assassins held high. The funeral of front-page newspaper columnist Samir Kassir, blown up in a car bomb attack Thursday -- a citizen of both Lebanon and France, his murder drawing international outrage. The ambassadors of France and the United States prominent in this Greek Orthodox church. Aisles are packed with mourners, lamenting the loss of a widely read Arab intellectual, a blow to freedom of speech, they claim, in an increasingly vicious battle for control of Lebanon.

(on camera) The assassinated journalist is described by opposition leaders as a hero of Lebanon's independence movement, murdered, they claim, for his scathing attacks on Syria, the same opposition whose ranks claim, they too, are now in grave danger.

JAMIL MROUE, DAILY STAR NEWSPAPER: Very vulnerable. They are targets. They are on the crosshairs of somebody as we speak. Of that, there is no question.

SADLER (voice over): Saad Hariri, the son and political heir of assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, joined mourners, supporting the writer's grief-stricken family enduring emotional ruin.

But Hariri and his stony-faced political allies in the Lebanese opposition say they are now being forced to curtail their public appearances in the face of death threats -- an attempt, they claim, to sabotage parliamentary elections.

WALID JUMBLATT, DRUZE LEADER: We have to continue. We'll continue peacefully, democratically. They will continue killing us. But in the final analysis, we'll win.

SADLER (voice over): A struggle the opposition aims to turn on staunch Syrian ally Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, with protests planned against him early next week. An increasingly dangerous battle of opposing political wills, say observers here, with a continuing risk of violent results.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SADLER: It has been 111 days since the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and Lebanese are no nearer to finding the truth behind that killing than they were all those days ago.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, Brent, what kind of efforts are behind trying to find the killers of this journalist?

SADLER: Well on many levels. As far as Samir Kassir is concerned, there's both an FBI team here working on the ground with Lebanese investigators, and French investigators are also joining in the hunt, trying to connect the dots, and more importantly, trying to find out whether or not there is any connection between the killing of the journalist and the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri back on Valentine's Day earlier this year. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so Brent, is there a good explanation as to why the FBI is involved in this as well?

SADLER: Certainly, the United States has been putting on immense pressure here in Lebanon for the Lebanese authorities to conduct a transparent investigation with the right kind of expertise because of what's now at stake here -- Lebanon independence, the movement is at stake here; the movement that President George W. Bush supported at the height of the so-called Cedar Resolution here. Having FBI agents on the ground certainly satisfies U.S. interests in that respect.

WHITFIELD: All right, Brent Sadler in Beirut. Thanks so much.

A big arrest in Iraq. The Defense Ministry says forces have captured a top lieutenant to Abu Musab al Zarqawi. Officials describe Mullah Mahdi, or "The Prince," as a significant player in al Zarqawi's operation.

Insurgents are targeting police again this weekend. A suicide car bomber killed two officers in the northern city of Mosul. Two other officers were wounded today in a similar explosion in Baghdad. And in northwestern Iraq near the Syrian border, U.S. troops are sweeping remote towns for insurgents. CNN's Jane Arraf, embed with military, says some 4,000 troops have arrived in the region.

Slowly, steadily, Iraqi soldiers and police are shouldering more responsibility for their country's security. Here's CNN's Jane Arraf.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The U.S. launched this as a war against terrorism. But increasingly, they're leaving it to the Iraqis to fight. The U.S.-led coalition dissolved Iraq's huge army after the war and started rebuilding it from scratch. Two years later, the Iraqi army is far from capable of securing the country. But there is progress.

(on camera) In this historic building, this ceremony is part of a process in which the Iraqi army is increasingly taking over parts of Baghdad.

(voice over) This is Iraq's old defense ministry, bombed by the United States in the 1991 Gulf War and rebuilt in the last year. The ceremony transferred authority for key a part of the capital from the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division to the Iraqi army.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the second Iraqi army brigade headquarters to be activated in Baghdad and the second of many more to come.

ARRAF (voice over): In the spotlight of the new Iraqi media, the U.S. Army handed over nominal authority, at least, for the Rasafa District of Baghdad. The Iraqi's Second Brigade, 6th Division, is known as the "Tiger Brigade."

Unlike the days of Saddam Hussein, there are no tanks, no cannons, but there is an increasingly independent army taking part in its growing responsibilities. Brigadier General Jaleel Talif Amer, commander of the 1st Brigade, said the army wouldn't make empty promises to the Iraqi people.

BRIG. GEN. JALEEL TALIF AMER, IRAQ 1ST BRIGADE COMMANDER: But we do promise that we will arrest the terrorists, and we'll work night and day to bring security, he said. On overnight missions this week, his soldiers spread out in Baghdad as part of "Operation Lightning," billed as the biggest Iraqi security operation ever.

Although it hasn't been nearly as large or widespread as Iraqi authorities had pledged, it has shown the Iraqi army increasingly taking the lead in security operations, allowing them to forge their own successes and make their own mistakes.

Jane Arraf, CNN, Baghdad.

WHITFIELD: Is North Korea changing the way it powers its missiles? New intelligence suggests that just might be the case. We'll explain why that's raising a big red flag in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN JORDAN, CEO, BOJ ENTERPRISES: The one advice I would give is to always have a Plan B.

ANNOUNCER: Atlanta Braves' outfielder Brian Jordan is thinking beyond the game of baseball. He's now stepping up to the plate in a new league: real estate development.

JORDAN: Les Jardin is a community that we're building in South Fulton, Georgia. We're trying to change the economic structure.

ANNOUNCER: Jordan is also revitalizing a neighborhood in downtown Atlanta with his Century Lofts development.

JORDAN: You have to have great leadership skills, be patient, develop your people skills to be successful.

ANNOUNCER: Despite a growing list of accomplishments, Jordan says there's one thing he has yet to do.

JORDAN: Opening up my youth center. That's where my heart is.

ANNOUNCER: Jordan's Sports Center for Excellence, which will house underprivileged children and provide academic and athletic programs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: U.S. Intelligence experts are following a disturbing development in North Korea. The regime may have mastered a new fuel technology that could keep missiles hidden from U.S. satellites.

Here's our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): North Korea's firing of a Russian-designed SS-21 surface-to-surface missile like this last month was likely its first successful test of a missile totally reliant on solid fuel, U.S. officials tell CNN.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: If the North Koreans have mastered solid fuel rockets, that would be an important development. STARR: North Korea's current liquid-fueled missiles use a combination of gasoline and kerosene. Satellites can watch for days as they are set up on launch pads with fuel trucks and hoses.

With new solid-fueled missiles, there are no trucks and hoses. The solid fuel has a consistency like cookie dough. The fuel can stay inside of the missile for years. U.S. satellites have much less ability to watch for a launch.

MCLAUGHLIN: They're much harder to detect. They can be moved more readily, and they're more portable, of course. And they can be launched with much less notice and less time than a liquid-fueled rocket.

STARR: Another urgent U.S. intelligence concern, Syria's missile program. U.S. intelligence officials confirm Syria took the highly unusual step of test firing three Scud missiles last week. The tests of so many missiles at once is seen as defiance of U.S. criticism of Syria's role in Lebanon and its support of the Iraq insurgency.

And U.S. intelligence believes North Korea aided the Syrian test. One official points out, one of the missiles was a North Korean design.

(on camera): There is more. Iran now says it's adding solid fuel to one of its missiles that is capable of hitting Israel, all part of the concern that a new round of missile threats is emerging.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And stay tuned to CNN, day and night, for the most reliable news about your security.

Up next, we'll go inside the "NOVAK ZONE" with one of Ronald Reagan's long-time aides. But first this week marks CNN's 25th anniversary. What did the rest of the media industry think about the start-up network?

Here is Disney's, Michael Eisner.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL EISNER, CEO, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY: When CNN came on, so many people thought: What is this insanity? Cable news, like cable music? What is going on? What is this Ted Turner doing?

And I remember one night Barry Diller called me up and said, " You know, I just watched just watched CNN. It looks just as good as ABC news." I said, "You're kidding?" So I turned it on, we started talking about it back and forth, and we knew at that point that there was a new guy in town and we'd better wake up.

Now of course it was years before either of us had any responsibility for news operations, but in the beginning, everybody was so skeptical about anything new.

And Ted Turner is really one of the truly gifted media entrepreneurs, who had an idea and just didn't let anybody tell him it was a terrible idea. He proved everybody else wrong. It's amazing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, today on the "NOVAK ZONE," Bob spends a few minutes with Michael Deaver. Deaver, who was one of Ronald Reagan's closest advisers both in and out of the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NOVAK: Welcome to the "NOVAK ZONE," we're in downtown Washington, D.C. with Reagan's longtime aide and personal friend, Michael K. Deaver, in Mr. Deaver's office. Mr. Deaver is the editor of a new book "Why I Am A Reagan Conservative."

Mike Deaver, What is a Reagan conservative?

MICHAEL DEAVER, FMR. WHITE HOUSE DEP. CHIEF OF STAFF: That's a good question.

I think a Reagan conservative is somebody who believes in limited government; somebody who believes that government's not the answer; somebody who believes in individual freedom and liberty, and, for Reagan, also free trade.

NOVAK: You worked for him in the -- when he was governor of the state of California and then you worked for him in his private office between being governor and president.

What was Ronald Reagan before he became President Reagan?

Was there a difference?

DEAVER: None.

Reagan was always the same, night or day; year in, year out.

I always say that all of us changed in some way coming back here to Washington, but Reagan never changed.

NOVAK: You were present in that terrible day in 1981, when an attempted assassin grievously wounded President Reagan.

Do you think that, that -- the terrible wounds he suffered changed him in any important way for the balance of his presidency?

DEAVER: I do.

I think the act changed him because he told me it changed him. And it changed him to the extent that he said, "I'm going to rely on my own instincts more than I have before."

And you saw -- or I saw in anyway -- a stubbornness that came to him after that, particularly as it affected his decisions vis-a-vis the Soviets in how he wanted to deal with them -- not rely on the state department and their advisers, but do it his way.

NOVAK: One of the really famous Reagan speeches was his Normandy speech, on the anniversary 1984, called "A Defining Moment" in his presidency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD REAGAN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc, these are the men who took the cliffs, these are the champions who helped free a continent, and these are the heroes who helped end a war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOVAK: Mike Deaver, Why is that an important speech?

DEAVER: Well, I think it was -- it was an iteration of Reagan's strong belief in the value of democracy and the value in fighting for it.

And that America stood for something almost as an island in the world and what it was, was a remembrance of, as he called them, the boys of Pointe du Hoc, who were then in their seventies and eighties, and what they had given to freedom.

NOVAK: Another famous presidential speech by Ronald Reagan was when -- is credited with helping to bring an end to the cold war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAGAN: General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace; if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe; if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate.

Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate!

(APPLAUSE)

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOVAK: Were you surprised to hear the president call for Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall?

DEAVER: No, not at all, because he -- remember this is the guy that called it an evil empire, so -- but I think one of the interesting things about that speech -- you, of course, knew Kennedy and others in your career -- go back and look at that as we just saw it, and Reagan doesn't use an arm or a fist or pound the podium, it was all within his soul and his voice.

There was no theatrics to it.

He simply said "tear down the wall."

NOVAK: One more famous speech was his memorial speech for the space shuttle Challenger after it crashed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAGAN: The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey, and waved good-bye. And slipped the surely bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.

NOVAK: But what made Ronald Reagan such a great communicator?

DEAVER: Because he was us.

He basically said "I am you, follow me."

And we did.

NOVAK: And just a year ago when he died, people who were really on the other side from him were singing his praises.

That's what happens to the Franklin Roosevelts and the Ronald Reagans, isn't it?

DEAVER: That's right.

They both changed America in the last century -- both remarkably.

NOVAK: Yes, and now the big question for Michael Deaver.

In the last year, Mr. Deaver, what has changed or what have we learned about the legacy, for America, of Ronald Reagan?

DEAVER: Well, I think one of the things that is becoming more and more apparent about Ronald Reagan is how much he read and wrote.

There people and scholars now who are delving through these thousands and thousands of memos, and letters, and scripts that he wrote throughout his life. Most people thought he was, you know, sort of a light intellectual.

And I think what's happening is that we're now learning that this was a very serious man.

NOVAK: Mike Deaver, thank you, very much.

And thank you for being in the "NOVAK ZONE."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you can catch more of Bob Novak tonight at 7:00 Eastern on the "CAPITAL GANG."

Tonight's guest is one of the men who had been on a lot of people's "Deep Throat" short list, former Nixon aide John Sears.

Still much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY.

At the top of the hour, "CNN PRESENTS."

We take you along with the first President Bush as he returns to the place where he was shot down in 1944 during World War II.

At 4:00 Eastern, "CNN LIVE SATURDAY," the life and times a celebrated and controversial military maverick.

And at 5:00 Eastern, as the anniversary of the invasion of Normandy approaches, "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS" takes a look at that historic day through the eyes of four U.S. veterans.

"CNN PRESENTS" starts right after this.

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